H&M has announced a new follow-on investment in Sellpy, a re-commerce platform, to support Sellpy’s international expansion. The investment also supports H&M’s strategic work to become fully circular. H&M, headquartered in Sweden, consists of eight defined brands which offer customers a wealth of styles and trends within fashion, beauty, and accessories. H&M started investing in Sellpy in 2015, and has since then participated in all investment rounds through its investment arm, CO:LAB. With its recent investment and purchase of secondaries, H&M has gone from being a minority shareholder to a majority owner, with an approximate 70 percent stake in Sellpy, according to a press release by the company. Second-hand is one of the fastest growing business sectors within the fashion industry, enabling for a sustainable, modern and personal customer offer and experience. It is a business opportunity H&M wants to be part of exploring, as it helps customers give their old clothes a new life through reuse, thus contributing to a closed loop for fashion. Sellpy was founded in 2014 and has since then grown into a successful re-commerce platform with great potential in expanding its current offer into a complete platform for second-hand fashion. Sellpy is now preparing for an international expansion, starting with Germany, which H&M is supporting by this new investment. “We are excited to continue to work even closer with H&M to empower everyone to live circular, regardless if they live in Sweden or elsewhere. With the support of H&M we can continue to innovate and drive awareness and adoption of re-commerce”, Michael Annör, CEO of Sellpy said. H&M has, through CO:LAB, invested approximately SEK 50 million in Sellpy since 2015. Recently, H&M also bought secondaries for SEK 92 million and made a follow-on investment of SEK 40 million. In addition, H&M will invest an additional SEK 60 million (in two different instalments) within a few years. When the full investment is carried through, H&M will have an approximate 74 per cent stake in Sellpy. Sellpy is one of several long-term investments that CO:LAB has made within three different categories: innovative business models, sustainable fashion and enablers. These mutual collaborations allow H&M, together with leading entrepreneurs in the industry, to explore what the future of fashion could be.
